More 60's American ska

[Mr. Bongo]

So I was on youtube looking up Prince Buster songs and I stumbled across this little video of an American pop singer from the 60's doing a ska song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cHQLNFow88

The song is called "Ska Doo Dee Yah", by Tracey Dey.

Apparently, according to Wikipedia, it was recorded in 1964 on the label Amy, and reached #107 on the US billboards.


Anyway, I'd never heard of it before, have any of you guys? It's actually not too terrible I don't think. It's listen-able.


So I did some more research on non-Jamaican ska from the 60s and came up with this little bit.

http://v-rocket.blogspot.com/2006/07/ska-ska-ska.html

A compilation of 60's non-Jamaican ska songs from around the world.

I've been trying to find a place where I can listen to it, but no luck so far.

What's especially interesting about it though is that on the track listing, it mentions the 60's California surf band called The Marketts as recording a ska song called "Come See Come Ska". I have yet to hear it unfortunately, but who knew that a LA based surf band would be recording a ska song in the 60's.

It makes you wonder how known ska really was in the US back in the 60s ...and for that matter, the world (outside of Britain).

I also wonder if Japan had any access to Ska back in the 60's or if any Japanese artists recorded any songs using the ska sound back then.

Anyway, just thought it was some interesting bit of research I happened to stumble upon tonight.

What say you?

[Tisko]

I believe there was a Canadian back in the 60s that had a few ska songs. I have a 45 of him. I'll have to find it for his name as it escapes me right now.

[Boss Sounds]

It makes you wonder how known ska really was in the US back in the 60s

Thanks for that link!

It's funny, I was just thinking about your question today at work. I too was wondering whether there were any U.S. ska bands back in the '60s.

My thought was to look at whether any bands popped up in and around NYC around 1964-1965... partly because Byron Lee played (introduced?) the ska to a US audience at the World's Fair in NYC in 1964 (should have been the Skatalites, but that's another story), and partly because of an influx of Jamaican immigrants to NYC around the same time.

It seems to me that this would make for a great thesis/dissertation for someone... I sure as hell would love to read such a manuscript.

I'm going to track down that Marketts track you mentioned... I've never heard that tune, but now I'm intrigued!

Cheers,

Shane

[Mr. Bongo]

Yeah, I know about that Canadian guy...although I can't remember his name either. He did that one song that The Kingpins covered called "Manon, Viens Danser Le Ska".

I was a member of the Utah ska board too when it was around, and I think I remember you from there Tisko, and the topic about the Canadian guy coming up on that board.

Also I know about Annette Funicello, after hearing her rendition of "Jamaica ska" being played at the Disney water park in Florida, and Toño Quirazco, but the others on that compilation I'd never heard of before.

Yeah it would cool if someone did a thesis/dissertation for Ska in 1960's America. It would definitely be a fascinating read.

And if there weren't any bands doing ska in NYC during the 60's, then at least somewhere in Florida, especially since Bob Marley moved there for a while in the 60's to work...at least I think it was Florida. I've forgotten now. I'll have to go read my liner notes of "One Love at Studio One" again.

Plus didn't Prince Buster tour Florida like in '65 or something? I remember reading that somewhere.

EDIT:

The Canadian guy's name is Donald Lautrec.

[ReggaeFire]

Woody Herman did a ska song, can't recall the name of it off hand though.

The only ex-pat Jamaicans in America that did recordings in the early 60s that I can think of were Derrick Harriott's Jiving Juniors group, they did a handful of singles when they were in NYC. Mostly on the Doo Wop end though. It seems like it wasn't until a few years later (the early 70s) that the US/Canadian Jamaicans really got into recording and releasing their own material. Not sure why that is though.

[ReggaeFire]

Thinking about it more, I assume the relative dearth of Jamaican ex-pat recordings in North America had to do with the fact that those that came here blended into the existing African American music scene, which didn't exist in the UK. Why record ska when that was just an attempt at R&B, when you could just play r&b. In the 70s reggae had more of a unique identity from American music which would lead to things like Wackie's and the Toronto scene.

[Grover]

Around the World's Fair period to release a record that was "a ska" was the same as doing "a cha cha number" or "a mambo" it was just a tempo, a dance style, and didn't come with any heavy cultural baggage or need to understand it's history or roots. Who was the first to play music in cha-cha time? Where did he live? How did the style become popularized and spread around the world? Very few know or care. Acker Bilk (easy-listening "jazz" clarinetist) did a few ska-titled numbers. I was very excited to find and buy two Ray Barretto 45s with "Ska" in the title, he does some really good Latin Soul/Boogaloo, but when I got the records home they were entirely unremarkable. Barretto was NYC-based, so there's some more US Ska for you. Look at a lot of light jazz/dance band stuff from around '64, you'll often see a ska-titled number thrown in.

[MikeyTags]

great information here. thanks all.

[Tisko]

I was a member of the Utah ska board too when it was around, and I think I remember you from there Tisko, and the topic about the Canadian guy coming up on that board.

Heh, yea, I used to post just about everywhere.

Don Leteau or something like that is what I am thinking his name is. Couldn't find that 45 right away yesterday so I gave up. After I am done with my undergrad, a.k.a. tomorrow I'll try to find it again.

[2ToneTed]

Also I know about Annette Funicello, after hearing her rendition of "Jamaica ska" being played at the Disney water park in Florida, and Toño Quirazco, but the others on that compilation I'd never heard of before.

The only version I am aware of that Annette Funicello did was from the 80's (with members of Fishbone) for the Back to the Beach soundtrack. Does anyone know if she did it in the 60s, too?

I have an LP by Mango Jones and his Orchestra. There is no date on it, but it looks and sounds like the 60s. All Music Guide says that Mango Jones was active in the 60s, but they say he was West Indian. I always assumed the group was American because everyone in the photos on the jacket are white and in the liner notes it says "...it was not long until the exciting news spread to the U.S." but I suppose that could mean they went to JA for the recordings and brought them back to the U.S.

[Mr. Bongo]

Also I know about Annette Funicello, after hearing her rendition of "Jamaica ska" being played at the Disney water park in Florida, and Toño Quirazco, but the others on that compilation I'd never heard of before.

The only version I am aware of that Annette Funicello did was from the 80's (with members of Fishbone) for the Back to the Beach soundtrack. Does anyone know if she did it in the 60s, too?

Well, here's a link with a version on her best of CD you can listen to.

I heard the Fishbone version on youtube a while ago and I don't remember it being like this version but I'll have to listen to them both again.

This version in the link doesn't sound very Fishbony to me, but I'm not too familiar with Fishbone, so I'm not the best judge.

I haven't been able to locate when this version in the link was recorded though.

Also here's another ska song from the 60's by an American band called the Fleetwoods, called "Ska Light Ska Bright", and can be found on that compilation mentioned in my very first post.

http://www.colorradio.com/fleetwoods.htm

It's towards the bottom of the site, and takes realplayer.

kind of an interesting song.

[The Tatman]

Also I know about Annette Funicello, after hearing her rendition of "Jamaica ska" being played at the Disney water park in Florida, and Toño Quirazco, but the others on that compilation I'd never heard of before.

The only version I am aware of that Annette Funicello did was from the 80's (with members of Fishbone) for the Back to the Beach soundtrack. Does anyone know if she did it in the 60s, too?

yes, she did. i have a d/l version of an lp that i've only ever heard the "jamaica ska" song from. it is definitely from before the 80's fishbone version.

[SkaBlahBlah]

The Caribs weren't American- UK and Aussie, but they played with Lloyd Brevett (preSkatalites):

http://toneandwave.blogspot.com/2008/10 ... apers.html